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Hailo has offered a taxi-hailing app in Boston since last October. From left, Andre-Michel Colas and Alex Beker (former Boston cab drivers now working as driver partners for Hailo) and Vanessa Kafka, general manager for Hailo in Boston.

Hailo, a British firm which chose Boston for the U.S. launch of its its taxi hailing app last October, now has more than 1,200 cab drivers on its system in Boston — representing one-fifth of all drivers in the city, said Vanessa Kafka, general manager for Hailo in Boston.

Competitor Uberdebuted its taxi-hailing feature last September in Boston, adding it to the existing Uber limo-summoning app. Uber has hundreds of Boston taxi drivers using the app, which use it to "receive and complete thousands of additional fares per week," said Michael Pao, Uber’s Boston general manager.

Both apps allow consumers to request a pickup from a nearby taxi, and pay their fare through the app as well.

Hailo, founded by London cab drivers, has emphasized a driver-friendly approach in seeking to expand to the U.S. Hailo earns revenue by charging $1 per ride to the consumer (or $2.50 during peak hours), and doesn’t charge any fee to cab drivers. Uber charges a commission to drivers for each fare, as well as a $1 fee per ride to the consumer.

Hailo also hired two veteran Boston cab drivers, Alex Beker and Andre-Michel Colas, last June to evangelize about the technology and train drivers before attempting to launch, Kafka said.

“They are very well-respected members of the community, and make sure the message and community aspects we’re building are relevant to drivers,” Kafka said.

Hailo has touted the potential for its technology to help drivers fill more of their shifts with passengers.

"In January, Hailo surveyed 200 cab drivers in Boston and found that 60 percent spend between a quarter and half of their shifts without passengers and many work more than 60 hours a week just to make ends meet," Beker and Colas wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. "We believe technology and a service that does not take advantage of drivers — and only wins when they win — is the key to Boston’s new and better taxi service."

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